1. Cat Power: Jukebox

It's easy to sing somebody else's song — but near impossible to do it well (Exhibit A: every karaoke bar from Topeka to Tokyo). Which is why we love Cat Power's stripped-down take on classics like "New York, New York." For fans of the soulful singer's The Covers Record, this is a welcome return to the form, with 10 bluesy reimaginings of tunes by James Brown, Billie Holiday, and Bob Dylan, plus a redo of her own "Metal Heart" and the set's only new original, "Song to Bobby." True, there's a long tradition of covering Dylan songs. But few have ever sounded this good.

Photo: Stephano Giovannini

2. Eye-Fi Wireless Memory Card

If you loathe cables but love uploading digicam shots, check out the Eye-Fi. This $100, 2-GB SD card is paired with a minuscule WiFi adapter that automatically uploads your precious pics to a hard drive or photo-sharing site like Flickr. No hands. No wires. No brainer.

3. Doctor Grordbort's Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory

They look real, but the convoluted contraptions in this faux-Victorian-era catalog do their magic only in the imagination of WETA Workshop artist Greg Broadmore. Then again, the names are kind of a giveaway that there's something fantastic going on: Not even Rumsfeld coulda thought up the Destroxulonic Plosive Force De-Stabiliser, the Manmelter 3600zx, or the Portable Inertionaut (pictured).

4. Cloverfield

At least we think that's the title of JJ Abrams' top-secret monster movie due January 18. Despite a couple of cryptic trailers and Easter egg Web sites, the plot remains a mystery. Still, we'll wager it's about grotesque creatures on a rampage through Manhattan. Besides, who cares if we're wrong? We'll see it anyway.

5. Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac

Three years after he became "the Seabiscuit of geekdom" for his 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy!, Jennings is cashing in further on his gold mind. His new book offers 8,888 questions, on topics ranging from "Naval-Gazing" to "Dome Sweet Dome." It's the perfect New Years' distraction for trivia junkies.*

* If you prefer to get your trivia questions from snack products instead of old-timey book technology, consider the newest item in your 7-11: Pringles Prints. The ever-popular dehydrated potato "crisps" now come with questions printed directly on them.

6. Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law

Disappointed that Birdman — that hilarious cartoon featuring the second-rate superhero turned third-rate defense attorney — has been taken out of the Adult Swim rotation? We're devastated. At least this videogame for PlayStation 2, PSP, and Wii is helping us cope. Finding evidence to defend Hanna-Barbera goofballs like Grape Ape and Yakky Doodle from criminal charges isn't difficult, but we love the gut-busting dialog and pitch-perfect animated sequences.

7. Y: The Last Man

What does the future hold for Yorick Brown, the last man on Earth? After more than five years, all will be revealed in the climax of this modern comic masterpiece by Brian K. Vaughan, who's also a staff writer on Lost. But the journey won't end with January's issue 60. The final trade paperback arrives this summer, and the big-screen version (from Disturbia director D. J. Caruso) might hit theaters in 2009.

8. Smart Fortwo

Though this king of microcars has been scooting around the EU practically since before it was the EU, the Fortwo is finally making its way stateside. It's about time! Americans like to save gas, too; now we don't have to shell out Prius bucks or duck into the gray market. The Smart's 36 mpg is worthy of a hybrid but will set you back far less (it starts at $11,590). Better late than never.

9. Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh

In this action-packed eye-opener about life in the projects, sociologist Venkatesh recounts the six-plus years he spent embedded with Chicago's Black Kings gang. The author, whose work was featured in Freakonomics, balances detailed accounts of drug dealers and drive-bys with insights about the symbiotic relationship between cocaine-slinging gang members and housing-project residents — and how they hustle to make a living.

10. La Blogotheque: Take-Away Shows

Seeing the Shins play an impromptu acoustic set? Pretty great. Watching them jam in front of a crowd of bemused Frenchies on the streets of Paris? Trés fantastique. French filmmaker Vincent Moon offers a weekly video podcast of tunes performed live by the world's coolest indie bands (Menomena, the Liars, Gravenhurst) set in some of the world's most cinematic cities.

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